Hydrothermal synthesis, characterization and optical properties of La_2Sn_2O_7:Eu^(3+) micro-octahedra

Pyrochlore structure La2Sn2O7：Eu3＋ microcrystals with uniform octahedron shape were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal route at 180 °C for 36 h. The crystal structure, particle size, morphologies, and optical properties of the as-synthesized products were investigated by XRD, TEM, SEM, EDS, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy and PL. The effects of pH of precursor solution, precursor concentration, reaction temperature, and time were investigated. The results reveal that pH of the precursor solution not only plays an important role in determining the phase of the as-synthesized products, but also has a significant influence on the morphologies of the samples. High-quality and uniform octahedrons with an average size of about 700 nm could be easily obtained at the pH value of 12. The possible formation mechanism of octahedral-like La2Sn2O7：Eu3＋ microcrystals was briefly proposed. The photoluminescence spectra show that La2Sn2O7：Eu3＋ micro-octahedra display stronger emission in the range of 582-592 nm compared with the samples with other shapes.

Synthesis, Characterization and Luminescent Properties of La2Zr2OT：Eu3＋ Nanorods

The Eu3＋-doped La2Zr207 phosphor with rod-like morphology was successfully synthesized by conventional solid state reaction and hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction patterns, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra were employed to charac- terize its structure and morphology as well as luminescent properties. The results indicated that the red-emitting phosphor La2Zr207：Eu3＋ had well crystallized and belonged to the cubic structure with space group of Fd3m. The as-obtained product mainly appeared as straight nanorods with an average diameter of 47 nm and length of 50-700 nm. The pos- sible growth mechanism was also discussed. It was found that under blue excitation with a wavelength of 466 nm, the La2Zr2OT：Eu3＋ phosphor exhibited a characteristic red emission at 616 nm that was attributed to the hypersensitive 5D0--＊TF2 electric dipole transition of Eu3＋ ions. Meanwhile, it was more interesting to note that the emission of 5D1--＊TFj （J=0, 1, 2） transitions and the splitting patterns of 5D0---＋TFJ （J--l, 2, 4） transitions of Eu3＋ ions can be observed in the luminescent spectra of La2Zr207：Eu3＋. It was demonstrated that Eu3＋ preferred to occupy a low symmetry site.

Effects of CO_2 Enrichment on Microstructure and Ultrastructure of Two Species of Freshwater Green Algae

order to investigate the morphological response of freshwater green algae to elevated CO2 concentration, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang and Scenedesmus obliquus Kutz were cultured with enriched CO2, and their microstructure and ultrastructure were examined by microscopy and electron microscopy. The effect of CO2 enrichment to 186 mumol/L, was insignificant on the shape and size of C. reinhardtii, but significant in reducing the volume of S. obliquus. High-CO2 increased the amount of chloroplast. The pyrenoids occurred in low-CO2-grown cells but not in high-CO2-grown ones and more starch granules were observed in the former.

Comparison of Photosynthetic Adaptability Between Kobresia humilis and Polygonum viviparum on Qinghai Plateau

The chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of Kobresia humilis Serg. and Polygonum viviparum L. grown at two different altitudes (3?200 m, 3?980 m) were measured and the ultrastructure of chloroplasts were observed for studying the photosynthetic adaptability of plants to the influences of stress conditions in alpine environment. Rfd _values, the vitality index, in leaves of K. humilis and P.viviparum grown at 3?980 m were higher than those at 3?200 m. The higher ratio of F v/F o and F v/F m in leaves of K. humilis and P.viviparum indicated that the rate of photosynthetic conversion of light energy increased at higher altitude. Ratios of F v/F o and F v/F m and Rfd _values in K.humilis were higher than that in P.viviparum grown at the same altitude. There were more irregular chloroplasts in leaves of both species grown at higher altitude. Many irregular chloroplasts such as swollen thylakoid, deformed chloroplast envelope, were observed in P.viviparum grown at 3?980 m, but few in K. humilis . These results were discussed in relation to the photosynthetic adaptability of alpine plants and the different adaptive competence between K.humilis and P.viviparum .

Effects of Doubled_CO_2 Concentration on Ultrastructure, Supramolecular Architecture and Spectral Characteristics of Chloroplasts from Wheat

Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) plants were grown under ambient and doubled_CO 2(plus 350 μL/L) concentration in cylindrical open_top chamber to examine their effects on the ultrastructure, supramolecular architecture, absorption spectrum and low temperature (77 K) fluorescence emission spectrum of the chloroplasts from wheat leaves. The results were briefly summarized as follows: (1) The wheat leaves possessed normally developed chloroplasts with intact grana and stroma thylakoid membranes; The grana intertwined with stroma thylakoid membranes and increased slightly in stacking degree and the width of granum, in spite of more accumulated starch grains within the chloroplasts than those in control; (2) The particle density in the stacked region of the endoplasmic fracture face (EFs) and protoplasmic fracture face (PFs) and in the unstacked region the endoplasmic fracture face (EFu) and the protoplasmic fracture face (PFu) was significantly higher than that of control. Furthermore, in some cases many more particles on EFs faces of thylakoid membranes appeared as a paracrystalline particle array; (3) The variations in the structure of chloroplasts were consistent with the absorption spectra and the low temperature (77 K) fluorescence emission spectra of the chloroplasts developed under the doubled_CO 2 concentration. Results indicate that the capability of light energy absorption of chloroplasts and regulative capability of excitation energy distribution between PSⅡ and PSⅠ were raised by doubled_CO 2 concentration. This is very favorable for final productivity of wheat.

Effects of High K^+ and Alkaline pH on Ultrastructure of Dunaliella salina Chloroplasts

ItwasreportedthatthegrowthofDunaliellasalinaTeod .culturedinmediumcontaining 1mol/L NaClwasalmostcompletelyinhibitedbytheadditionof 10 0mmol/LKCl.ThehighK+ (10 0mmol/LKCl) treatmentalsosignificantlyinhibitedthephotosyntheticrateofD .salinaanddecreasedchlorophyllcontentsin algae .ThisstudyfocusesonpossibleeffectsofhighK+ oralkalinepHontheultrastructuralchangeofchloro plastsinD .salina .AfterD .salinawasculturedinamediumcontaining 10 0mmol/LKClorinamedium withalkalinepHfor 8to 10days ,dramaticultrastructuralchangesoccurredinthechloroplastsincludingthy lakoidswelling ,volumeincreaseofchloroplast,andsignificantaccumulationofstarchgrainsinchloroplasts . Theresultsareconsistentwithourpreviousreportindicatingthattheultrastructuralchangesinchloroplastun derhighK+ oralkalinepHmayleadtoaninhibitoryeffectsonphotosynthesisandoverallgrowthofD .sali na .

Research on Microstructure and Component of Anas crecca Egg Shell

[Objective] The aim was to analyze the reasons resulting in the brittleness of Anas crecca crecca.[Method]The structure of the eggshell crushed in hatching process was scanned and its basic elements were analyzed by using electron microscope and Energy Disperse Spectroscopy.[Result]The basic structures of Anas crecca crecca eggs were the same;however,there was great possibility that one of the main reasons affecting hatch ability was the cracks in the outside surface of eff shell.[Conclusion]This study would provide a theoretical basis for the research on artificial in cubation and the egg structure of Anas crecca crecca.

Forest structure,productivity and soil properties in a subtropical ever-green broad-leaved forest in Okinawa,Japan

Structure, species composition, and soil properties of a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in Okinawa, Japan, were examined by establishment of plots at thirty sites. The forest was characterized by a relatively low canopy and a large number of small-diameter trees. Mean canopy height for this forest was 10 m and stands contained an average of 5400 stems-ha^-1 （ -〉 3.0 cm DBH）; 64% of those stems were smaller than 10 cm DBH. The total basal area was 54.4 m^2-ha^-1, of which Castanopsis sieboldii contributed 48%. The forest showed high species diversity of trees. 80 tree species （≥ 3.0 cm DBH） from 31 families was identified in the thirty sampling plots. C. sieboldii and Schima wallichii were the dominant and subdominant species in terms of importance value. The mean tree species diversity indices for the plots were, 3.36 for Diversity index （H＇）, 0.71 for Equitability index （J＇） and 4.72 for Species richness index （S＇）, all of which strongly declined with the increase of importance value of the dominant, C. sieboldii. Measures of soil nutrients indicated low fertility, extreme heterogeneity and possible A1 toxicity. Regression analysis showed that stem density and the dominant tree height were significantly correlated with soil pH. There was a significant positive relationship between species diversity index and soil exchangeable K^＋, Ca^2＋, and Ca^2＋/Al^3- ratio （all p values 〈0.001） and a negative relationship with N, C and P. The results suggest that soil property is a major factor influencing forest composition and structure within the subtropical forest in Okinawa.

Physiological and Biochemical Characteristic of a Stripe Mutant with Abnormal Flower Organs in Rice

[Objective] The experiment aimed to explore physiological and biochemical changes of leaves after plants were mutated. [Method] A rice double mutant with stripes on stems, leaves and spikelets were taken as experimental materials to study the enzyme activity changes in different growth stages and amino acid variation in rice. [ Result] The SOD activity in mutant was higher than that in wild plant at tillering metaphase, but lower than that in wild type before heading stage and late flowering; the POD activity in three stages increased firstly then declined and the activity showed highest maximal activity at before heading stage. However, the POD activity in wild type showed the opposite change trend; the CAT activity presented degression at three stages, especially high at tillering metaphase, but reverse changes in wild type; the MDA activity decreased at three stages, but it was still higher than that in wild type, besides, the soluble sugar content of mutant was lower, but total amino acid content was increased. [ Conclusion] The expression of mutant characteristics was correlated with SOD, POD, CAT and MDA activity Changes and these changes made the mutant survive and rice quality change at last.

金属与活细胞制3D打印墨水

3D打印技术的一大魅力是创新、前沿。在科研院校中,哈佛大学、麻省理工可谓引领3D打印技术创新。3月早些时候,哈佛大学Lewis实验室获得3D打印人工组织的最新突破,可以打印出维持生物学功能的并可以存活超过六个星期的组织。

Structure and Function of ε-Subunit of ATP Synthase in Higher Plant Chloroplast

The ε-subunit is the smallest subunit of chloroplast ATP synthase, and is known to inhibit ATPase activity in isolated CF1-ATPase. As a result ε is sometimes called an inhibitory subunit. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, the ε -subunit is essential for the coupling of proton translocation to ATP synthesis (as proton gate). The relation between the structure and function of ε -subunit of ATP synthase in higher plant chloroplast has been studied by molecular biological methods such as site-directed mu-tagenesis and truncations for C- or N-terminus of ε -subunit. The results showed that: (1) Thr42 of ε-subunit is important for its structure and function; (2) compared with the ε-subunit in E.coli, the ε-subunit of chloroplast ATP synthase is more sensitive to C- or N-terminus truncations.

Characterization of 5’-Noncoding Region of Millet Chloroplast psbA Gene

The 2.2 kb EcoRI fragment containing the chloroplast pshA gene from millet (Setaria italica) has been cloned and the nucleotide sequence of the 5’-noncoding region has been determined. The 5’-flanking region is found to contain prokaryote-like promoter structures: compared with prokaryotic promoters, the“-35”box (TTGACA) shows 100% homology while, in the ‘-10’box (TATACT), one different nucleotide is found. In addition, between these two boxes, there is a consensus sequence“TATATA”.just as in prokaryotic promoters. All these results indicate that millet psbA promoter has both prokaryotic and eukaryotic characteristies. The mRNA leader region of millet pshA gene is 87 bp, the same length as sorghum. However, an additional CTATTT sequence is found as compared with rice and an additional TTTT, as with wheat, barley and rye. So the differences between C3 and C4 plants may be universal in the family of Gramineae. Furthermore, computer analysis shows that a small stem-loop structure might be formed in pshA mRNA leader region in these six plants. The above-mentioned additional CTATTT sequence happens to be just located within the stem-loop structure, thus leading to different sizes of the stem-loops among these six species. It is likely that this small secondary structure may have some effect on the expression and regulation of the psbA gene.

Microsatellites underestimate genetic divergence in the Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus)

Although a growing number of both sequence-based and microsatellite nuclear loci have been used to infer genetic structures, their relative efficiencies remain poorly understood. In our study, we used the Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus) to explore the resolving ability of these two types of markers. The south-western and central mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogroups were divergent to some extent in sequence-based nuclear data, while mixed together in microsatellites data. The F ST values among clades were about four times lower in microsatellite loci than those in sequence-based nuclear loci. We are of the opinion that size homoplasy may have contributed to the inability of microsatellites to uncover differentiation. Our results suggest that sequence-based nuclear loci outperformed microsatellite loci in detecting population structures, especially those focused on populations with large effective population sizes. There was no significant correlation between F ST values and allelic size variability, which suggested that the efficiency of microsatellite loci in detecting genetic structure may be independent of their polymorphism. F ST is better than R ST in detecting intraspecific divergence due to the high variance of R ST . In agreement with sequence-based nuclear loci, microsatellite loci did resolve the genetic distinctness of the Taiwan Residents phylogroup. The genetic differentiation between the Taiwan Residents and continental clades may involve allopatric divergence without gene flow.

Effect of Silicon on Leaf Ultrastructure, Chlorophyll Content and Photosynthetic Activity of Barley Under Salt Stress

Two contrasting cultivars of barley (Horderm vykgare L.): Kepin No. 7 (salt sensitive), and Jian 4 (salt tolerant) were grown in a hydroponics system with 2 NaCl levels: 60 mmol NaCl L-1 and 120 mmol NaCl L-1, and 3 Si levels: 0 mmol Si L-1, 0.5 mmol Si L-1 and 1.0 mmol Si L-1 (as silicic acid). Compared with the plants treated with 60 mmol NaCl L-1 alone, the leaf chlorophyll contents of plants treated with salt and Si increased significantly for salt-sensitive cultivar at tillering stage, but for salt-tolerant cultivar,the addition of Si resulted in an obvious increase in the leaf chlorophyll content of plants exposed to 120 mmol NaCl L-1. However, this Si-enhancement of leaf chlorophyll content was also observed in the salttolerant plants at jointing stage, but not in the salt-sensitive plants. Moreover, leaf chlorophyll content was consistently higher for the salt-tolerant cultivar than for the salt-sensitive cultivar irrespective of salt and/or Si treatment. Compared with the plants treated with salt alone, net CO2 assimilation rate in plant leaves increased significantly for both cultivars when trested with salt and Si. The addition of Si to the salt treatment was found to improve the cell ultrastructure of leaves. Under salt stress condition, the double membranes of chloroplasts disappeared, but membrane integrity was markedly improved in the salt treatment supplemented with Si. Silicon was also found to ameliorate the damage to the ultrastructure of chloroplast granae which appeared to be disintegrated and vague in salt treatments without added Si. The results support previous work which showed that Si decreases the permeability of plasma membranes of salt-stressed barley, thus mitigating salt damage.

Eco-friendly synthesis of high silica zeolite Y with choline as green and innocent structure-directing agent

Zeolite synthesis in contemporary chemical industries is predominantly conducted using organic structure‐directing agents(OSDAs),which are chronically hazardous to humans and the environment.It is a growing trend to develop an eco‐friendly and nuisanceless OSDA for zeolite synthesis.Herein,choline is employed as a non‐toxic and green OSDA to synthesize high silica Y zeolite with SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of 6.5–6.8.The prepared Y zeolite samples exhibited outstanding(hydro)thermal stability at ultrahigh temperature owing to the higher SiO2/Al2O3 ratio.The XRF,SEM,29Si‐NMR and 13Na+results suggested that choline plays a structure‐directing role in the synthesis of Y zeolite,while the feed molar fraction of Na+is a crucial determinant for the framework SiO2/Al2O3 ratio and the crystal morphology.

Effect of Bradyrhizobium sp. Inoculation on Biomass and Nodulation of Cowpea

Vigna unguiculata(L.) Walp (cowpea) is a tropical legume of very high nutritive and economic values. A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the BNF (biological nitrogen fixation) efficiency of 4 strains of Bradyrhizobium sp. (VUXYI, VUIEI, VUMDSI and VUIDI). From the results obtained these strains were classified into efficiency groups, with VUIDI being the most efficient and VUXYI the least efficient.The effect of inoculation was tested on 2 cowpea varieties in a field experiment. Remarkable increases in nodulation biomass and crop yield were observed. An increase from 58% to 81% in dry seed was obtained for the two varieties. A significance test revealed a significantly positive correlation between nodulation and biomass.

Suppression of Meloidogyne javanica by antagonistic and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

Four rhizobacteria selected out of over 500 isolates from rhizosphere of the vegetables in China were further studied for suppression of the root-knot nematode and soil-borne fungal pathogens in laboratory and greenhouse in Belgium. They were identified as Brevibacillus brevis or Bacillus subtilis by Biolog test and partial 16s rDNA sequence comparison. They not only inhibited the radial growth of the root-infecting fungi Rhizoctonia solani SX-6, Pythium aphanidermatum ZJP-1 and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cucumerinum ZJF-2 in vitro, but also exhibited strong nematicidal activity by killing the second stage larvae of Meloidogyne javanica to varying degrees in the greenhouse. The toxic principles of bacterium B7 that showed the highest juvenile mortality were partially characterized. The active factors were heat stability and resistance to extreme pH values. B7 used either as seed dressing or soil drench significantly reduced the nematode populations in the rhizosphere and enhanced the growth of mungbean plants over the controls in the presence or absence of R. solani.

Green synthesis of pure and doped semiconductor nanoparticles of ZnS and CdS

Nanoparticles of pure and Cu/Ag-doped CdS and ZnS have been synthesized via chemical bath deposition without using any capping or toxic reagents.The synthesis was carried out through a simple and less expensive green method.The XRD result shows that both pure CdS and ZnS and their doped derivatives are of high crystalline with hexagonal packing structure.The average crystalline size of all nanoparticles was calculated using Debye-Scherrer formula.The crystalline size of nanoparticles of pure samples varied with that of the doped sample.The average crystalline sizes of all nanoparticles are found to be in the range of 5.5-2.2 nm for CdS（from pure to doped） and 4.3-3.4 nm for ZnS,respectively.The band gap values obtained from UV-visible spectra are in the range of 3.5-2.1 e V for CdS and 3.3-2.7 e V for ZnS derivatives,respectively.The FTIR spectral data give characteristic peaks for Cd—S,Cu—S,Ag—S and Zn—S bonds and confirm the formation of respective nanoparticles.The peaks corresponding to the microstructural formation are also observed.The FE-SEM images show the granular morphological structure for all the samples.The agglomeration size of the samples in the range of 10-50 nm for CdS：Cu and 50-100 nm for ZnS：Cu is observed.

Mechanistic study on the cellulose dissolution in ionic liquids by density functional theory

Ionic liquids （ILs） have attracted many attentions in the dissolution of cellulose due to their unique physicochemical properties as green solvents. However, the mechanism of dissolution is still under debate. In this work, computational investigation for the mechanisms of dissolution of cellulose in [Bmim]Cl, [Emim]C1 and [Emim]OAc ILs was performed, and it was focused on the process of breakage of cellulose chain and ring opening using cellobiose as a model molecule. The detailed mechanism and reaction energy barriers were computed for various possible pathways by density functional theoretical method. The key finding was that 1Ls catalyze the dissolution process by synergistic effect of anion and cation, which led to the cleavage of cellulose chain and formation of derivatives of cellulose. The investigation on ring opening process ofcellobiose suggested that carbene formed in ILs played an important role in the side reaction of cellulose, and it facilitated the formation of a covalent bond between cellulose and imidazolium core. These computation results may provide new perspective to understand and apply ILs for pretreatment of cellulose.